Tag

local nonprofits

May 18

Nonprofits rush to take advantage of PPP lifeline

By Feature, Governance

By Lynn Sygiel, editor, Charitable Advisors

Cindy Booth advocates for Marion County’s abused and/or neglected children through her work at Child Advocates.

Rosalyn Demares promotes state artists through Indiana Artisan.

Rachel Sahaidachny invests time and energy helping writers tell their stories at the Indiana Writers Center (IWC).
Julia Whitehead champions Kurt Vonnegut’s legacy at the museum and library that bear his name.

What these four nonprofit leaders have in common is that they applied for Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program loans. As of May 8, Indiana SBA-approved lenders helped complete 71,614 loans, totaling more than $9.66 billion, according to SBA.

What is not clear, however, is how many of these loans were approved for nonprofits.

Laura Schafsnitz, public affairs specialist at the Indiana District Office of the SBA, said that its priority is still processing funds, and has not yet differentiated between the two eligible groups – nonprofits and small business.

United Way of Central Indiana and the Arts Council of Indianapolis found some answers through a survey of local nonprofits concerning the status of PPP applications.

Denise Luster, UWCI’s vice president of impact research and analytics, said it reached out to 118 nonprofits in six counties ranging from grassroots organizations to those with multi-million dollar budgets. The target audience was the human services sector, but it reached beyond United Way’s network of accredited partners.

Of the 118 respondents, 85 applied (72 percent) for a PPP loan. By the end of April when the responses were tallied, 68 nonprofits had received approval, and 17 had not yet received word. Of the 68 approved, 50 had funds in their bank accounts. The average amount applied for was $352,872. The April 30 report does not reflect second round of PPP loans application, which opened just three days prior.

Ernest Disney-Britton, the Arts Council of Indianapolis’ vice president of community impact, shared similar data.

“I can tell you that of the 76 organizations that responded to our survey, 84 percent said they had applied for the Paycheck Protection Program,” he said. “One mid-sized organization indicated that it had received $85,000 and another mentioned it received $329,000.”

Unlike the first round of the PPP program in which funds were depleted quickly, round two still has money to give out, according to Schafsnitz.

The PPP program was not without its well-publicized wrinkles and that’s among the reasons why early in the state’s shelter-in-place order, some nonprofit leaders tried to provide support for local nonprofits. The Arts Council, for example, convenes weekly sessions that include at least 90 CEOs and executive directors. United Way and the Immigrant Welcome Center do the same. In its latest Community Connect report, 53 agencies participated in the Welcome Center’s Partner Power call. These have also been opportunities for nonprofit executives to share information and pose questions.

Child Advocates’ Executive Director Booth said she heard about the PPP through emails from the organization’s state office, national CASA and United Way. These emails shared the opportunity, what it means and what to consider.

But applying for a PPP loan was not for everyone. Booth shared a story about a colleague from southern Indiana who sought her out as sounding board, explaining her thought process and her reasons for her decision.

“I think for the smaller (organizations), sometimes it’s just even talking to somebody. ‘Am I on the right track? Does this sound right to you?’

“She really was being very thoughtful, but when she got to the ‘no,’ she was like, ‘I feel like I should be say, ‘yes.’ There’s money out there, I should be saying yes.’” That director ultimately decided not to apply,” said Booth.

The biggest question for Demares, a one-person staff, was: Is it truly a forgivable loan?” Indiana Artisans has two stores with 13 part-time employees, one in Carmel and one in the French Lick Resort. “We’ve never had any kind of loans, so this was new,” she said.

As information about the program evolved, some had concerns about the reality of forgiveness. PPP loans can qualify for forgiveness, but if not, the loan has a 1% interest rate over two years, with no payments due during the first six months.

Booth figured, while it could be viable, her concern was any negative implications. So with her CFO, she conferred with the agency’s auditor who encouraged her to apply. Booth also talked with her national and state CASA colleagues. This all happened, she said, within a number of hours. Booth said they learned early that you needed to start the process with your local bank. For Child Advocates that was Huntington Bank, and the nonprofit’s board treasurer is a bank employee who connected them the correct staff person at the bank.

All had been in regular contact with their boards or executive committees. Board members, they all agreed, provided helpful information and advice.

There was also information coming from those weekly calls, oftentimes from an expert on a particular topic. The three arts leaders — Demares, Sahaidachny and Whitehead — were regulars on the Arts Council calls.

Sahaidachny said those calls have been a godsend.

“I definitely have learned a lot. It certainly helps because it’s so hard to keep up with everything; to be able to get that recap every week has really helped me through the last two months,” she said.

“The Arts Council really spearheaded this effort of communication which has been amazing. (It is) important for the information, but also important to feel like you’re all in this together, sharing and helping each other and not feeling competitive,” said Whitehead.

After conversations with their bankers, all four had the documents ready when the loan program opened on April 3. For the Writers’ Center that was Regions, for Indiana Artisan it was Old National, Child Advocates banks with Huntington and the Vonnegut Library and Museum banks with National Bank of Indianapolis.

When the SBA launched the Paycheck Protection Program, there were high demands and technical glitches that stalled loan processing.

That wasn’t the case for Whitehead who said the Vonnegut Museum and Library’s CFO submitted its application the morning the program opened.

“We worked closely with our bank. National Bank of Indianapolis worked that entire weekend to process the loans,” she said.

Booth said it was a simple one-page application. “I think our CFO had her finger hovered over the send button as soon as Friday came,” said Booth.

While the two others were ready, they weren’t successful submitting electronically on the first day.

Demares wasn’t able to connect to Old National’s portal to upload any documents. But her banker emailed that evening to say that the portal was open and functioning, but her application would have to be redone. While she Demares did this immediately and successfully submitted it to the bank, it took until April 29 to receive approval from the SBA.

Sahaidachny had a similar experience. Her bank’s online portal kept crashing and freezing. She was finally able to complete the PPP submission the following Monday. Later that week, she received an email from her bank that the SBA had quit taking applications because the dollars had run out. Regions, however, continued to process applications to have ready in anticipation of a second round of funds. The fund was replenished and opened again on April 27. After lots of handwringing, on May 5 the Writers’ Center executive learned the money was deposited in its account.

Two of these nonprofits applied for loans of under $50,000, and two over, reflecting the sizes of their payrolls. In order to receive forgiveness, at least 75 percent must be applied for payroll costs, while the remainder can be used for mortgage interest, utilities and rent. The loan is intended to cover eight weeks of these expenses, and the borrower must then complete forgiveness application and submit to its lender. Ultimately, the bank is responsible for assessing forgiveness.

Booth said Child Advocates learned on April 16 that the organization had been approved, and Whitehead said it was April 7. The next step is applying for forgiveness. Each has a different eight-week period that beginning on the date the lender made the first disbursement of the PPP loan to the borrower.

“We didn’t expect funding as quickly as we did. That was a wonderful surprise,” said Whitehead. “We took the money and put it in a restricted account. We’re using it for payroll, but it’s sitting in a restricted account as we deplete the funds over the next couple of months. We did it for ease of accounting and also just to really highlight that those are special funds.”

All had positive experiences with the local bankers. None of the four knew of any nonprofits that applied that were denied.

“The bankers that I worked with were so responsive to my questions in the beginning of the application process. They really helped us understand what we needed to show and with their help we were able to put that together,” said Sahaidachny.

If there is a silver lining, each was able to keep staff and had the chance to reflect and plan for a different future – delivering services virtually or planning for the safe re-opening.

Whitehead said since the museum and library opened at its new location in November, it’s been a breakneck pace.

“The PPP allowed me to take a breath, and to talk with our staff about what was going well, and what was not going well. We had this wonderful clearing where we can reset. We opened in November and we were operating beyond our capability. This gave us a chance to stop and think, ‘OK what really makes sense. Shat changes do we need to make, so that we can comply with whatever the new normal will be.’”

Jun 17

Discovering the power of the podcast

By Technology

By Lynn Sygiel, editor, Charitable Advisors

Just four short years ago, few people would have recognized the name – or the voice – of Sarah Koenig. Today, Koenig, an investigative journalist, engages millions of people and is among the world’s most-listened-to storytellers.

Koenig’s medium? The podcast, a once-humble and somewhat experimental method of delivering content to the general public.

Koenig is the host of “Serial,” a podcast that tells a nonfiction story over multiple episodes. Earlier this month, Koenig was in Indianapolis as part of WFYI’s Listen Up speakers’ series.

According to Slate magazine, the word “podcast” first appeared in a news story in 2005. But for years, podcasts remained on the fringes, unable to gain traction until smartphones and apps made information easily accessible and a lot more portable.

Matt Shafer Powell, WFYI’s chief content officer, produced his first podcast in 2005. He was working in Knoxville, Tennessee, and a university IT staff person read about podcasts and suggested using this platform to distribute content.

According to Powell, there was an initial flush of podcasting, and then growth seemed to die.

“We were actually kind of talking about it in terms of ‘Yeah, remember when podcasting was such an interesting idea. Boy, those days are gone.’

“And then all of a sudden, there came this wholesale embrace of podcasting from so many of the big players, like “This American Life,” and groups like that. It just exploded and then “Serial” came along.”

And just how has the medium grown? Earlier this year, Chartable, a company that provides podcast analytics and attribution tools, reported that there were 700,000 available podcasts, and that number is growing. Each month, 32 percent of Americans listen to a podcast.

But does that mean that nonprofits have embraced the format?

Bill Stanczykiewicz, the Fund Raising School’s director, knows firsthand what it takes to regularly produce a podcast. In late January 2018, the school launched “First Day,” a weekly 10-minute podcast to provide organizations with the latest information on fundraising and philanthropy.

“I would speculate that the format probably works best for intermediary-type nonprofit organizations. Many of our nonprofits are literally first responders who are meeting needs and making the world a better place as they serve children and victims of domestic violence, promote the arts, clean the environment, endorse animal welfare, all these things. That’s a lot of hard work on a day-to-day basis and to think about setting aside time for podcasts could be a challenge.”

So that’s why Stanczykiewicz’s team has kept the format short, and before the launch of “First Day,” identified its three strategic reasons.

“One is that we believe strongly that podcasts are the medium of now and definitely the medium of the future. More and more people are turning to podcasts for information. I think of college students who tell me they never read the New York Times, but they listen to the NYT podcast every day.”

The Fund Raising School had a multichannel marketing strategy, and a podcast was a seamless fit. It also ensured that the school’s information is accessible, including internationally, for fundraising and nonprofit professionals.

“We know you’re making the world a better place, so it’s 10 minutes in, out, done. Get practical information that you need and get back to work is another reason why we chose that format,” Stanczykiewicz said. In the year and a half of production, there have been only two occasions when the format deviated from the interview format. Typically, Stanczykiewicz said, he is the objective host, and there is a featured guest.

“We tell the guests in advance, this needs to be translated for practical application for frontline fundraisers. We cannot have our very talented faculty and researchers talking about research; it has to be what does this research means for practical fundraising. We wanted it to be quick, right to the point. If you want more information, you can go to our website. We know that fundraisers are busy people, we wanted to summarize, three big points, and then be done.”

And while WFYI’s Powell said he’s not an expert on podcasting, public radio had an early upper hand. In 2005, NPR emerged as a major player with a ready supply of content when it put out shows like “Fresh Air,” “Planet Money” and “Ted Radio Hour” online.

“We were on the air already doing in-depth reporting, and that kind of storytelling, so it was an easier fit to move it over to the podcast realm than maybe some other media entities. In a lot of ways, we’re learning right along with everybody else.

“I think it’s a really exciting time. It’s scary, but being in media has always been scary because it’s in a constant state of change. I think when it comes down to it, people still love, and will always love a good story,” said Powell.

He, like Stanczykiewicz, believes that audio-only content isn’t going away, because it allows the listener to engage in other activities, like jogging or cooking. He said the case for radio over 100 years ago was that it allowed an individual’s imagination to fill in the gaps, and that hasn’t changed.

“I believe that about audio-only content despite the fact that we are going through changes in how it’s delivered. We’ll continue to go through changes, but there’s always going to be a place for good content, good stories and the human voice,” said Powell.

Stanczykiewicz said the format of the school’s podcasts works for them, and urges nonprofits or individuals to have a plan before launching any type of podcasts.

While he has a background in radio, he earned a leadership certificate on social media from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University. One point that was stressed in that training was to release it on the same time and day or days of the week. So, because “First Day” is released on Mondays, it is aptly named, and while some people have suggested they produce a daily podcast, currently the school doesn’t have that capacity or a plan to increase production.

Powell urged potential podcasters to be realistic about whom you want to reach.

“There’s nothing wrong with doing a podcast that only reaches a small, but selective group of people. Be realistic about who your audience is and what you want from them: Do you want to entertain them, do you want to educate them, do you want to inspire them?” he said.

While the Fund Raising School does not have exact audience listeners, typically the week a podcast is released, Stanczykiewicz said there are 500 listeners. Each podcast is archived, and anecdotally, the school learned that people use the 10-minute segments at staff and board meetings. Over time, podcasts, which Stanczykiewicz said cost virtually nothing to produce, have achieved up to 1,000 listeners.

Powell recommends identifying resources as part of the initial planning, but said that equipment and hosting are not expensive. He cautions that it depends on the final product. From his experience, though, he said it takes 10 times longer than initial projections.

“If you’re talking about the kind of podcast where you’re going out and getting stories and editing these stories and getting music and doing all this other stuff, there’s going to be a pretty financial obligation there unless you got all the equipment and all the time in the world and can do it yourself,” said Powell.

And while podcast audiences are growing, some genres are more appealing. A 2018 report from Nielson examined the broadest popularity types for avid listeners.

The Fund Raising School’s format, for example, requires little editing. Guests are told it’s live to tape with just one take. Liz Jackson, the school’s associate director, manages the program, and this past school year, there was a graduate assistant who did the day-to-day work of scheduling, preparing the guests, uploading the podcasts and tracking usage data. Unlike most nonprofits, the school’s advantage is access to IUPUI’s facilities, which include a video- and audio-recording studio that is staffed. Topic ideas are a standing agenda item at bimonthly team meetings.

“We brainstorm what’s some of the latest research that has come from our faculty or research team, or as we teach, is there a predominate line of questioning that we’re hearing about, a topic that we’re hearing about, or is there something out in the news. For example, we might say there’s been some natural disasters, maybe we need to have something on natural disasters or how does that affect charitable giving or some change in tax policy,” he said.

Podcasts are recorded two to three months prior to air time to make sure there’s always enough in the pipeline, and typically the interviewees are solicited from the two-dozen faculty,10 researchers or external guests speaking at the school.

For WFYI, podcasts have typically been local radio shows that are available on-demand. That was until “The WorkAround” from “Side Effects.” Funding from the Corporation of Public Broadcasting provided the initial funding for “Side Effects,” and in the grant was a deliverable — a podcast. After extensive brainstorming, the team decided to produce 20- to-25-minute podcasts about the difficult and sometimes shocking things that people would do to work around the American health care system. Seven episodes were produced last year.

“It was a learning experience. We totally underestimated how much time and energy it would take. You’d think that that would be a great lesson for us, but we actually have another podcast in production right now called “Sick” that’s going to launch in September,” said Powell.

Some support for this new podcast is provided by Boston-based PRX.

“PRX had this program called “Catapult.” It was designed specifically to (support) public radio stations that had some ideas and some resources available for podcasts, but really didn’t know what they’re doing. I’m happy with “The WorkAround.” It’s good journalism, and I think it came out sounding good, but we had no clue what we were doing, we were totally flying without instruments. We also didn’t know how to market something like this or how do you get listeners?

“And then along comes PRX with its RFP saying, ‘Hey, if you have a podcast idea, we’d love to help you with it.’” WFYI was one of five stations named around the country to be part of the “Catapult” cohort. PRX provided some funding to help with the costs, but it is providing something more valuable.

“The important part is they’re putting us through extensive training on everything from the best way to produce a podcast, to the best way to write one, to the best way to market one. Really more than anything, it’s the intense training that we’re getting out of  ‘Catapult,’” said Powell, who’s been with the station for two years.

The reporting and production team are Jake Harper and Lauren Bavis, and they have traveled to Boston several times for boot camp training weeks. PRX has also been a constant editorial presence, offering suggestions to hone the product.

“I’m anxious to see what the output will be in terms of lessons for us going forward,” said Powell.

So if a nonprofit is thinking about tackling a podcast, Powell shared advice that Koenig provided her audience earlier this month — be your true self.

“If you’re just trying to create this podcast, and it’s not something that engages you, people are going to recognize that. It’s a heavy, heavy lift. Koenig, for example, had 42 hours of tape with Adnan Syed that had to be gone through. There’s a long process of editing and reediting and questioning and re-questioning. In that kind of storytelling podcast, you better be prepared to really work long and hard,” he said. “People say, ‘That sounds easy, I can do that.’ But they don’t know what’s involved.”

Stanczykiewicz said that if the philanthropic sector isn’t there yet, it needs to be.

“As more and more people are consuming information through their phones and other technological devices, they’re looking to podcasts now for information more than ever before. And that’s a trend in our opinion that’s only going to continue to increase. This is where the world is going,” he said.

“It will be very interesting to see this moving forward. You know when you write this story three years from now, I think they’ll be even much more extensive than what you’re finding now,” said the assistant dean for external relations.

Editor’s note: After this article ran, the Girl Scouts of Central Indiana shared news of its podcast. Since February, it has partnered with Veteran Strategies, a local public relations firm, to interview Hoosier community leaders. The inaugural “Leaders and Legends” podcast featured former Mayor of Indianapolis Greg Ballard. https://leadersandlegends.fireside.fm/